“Equality is not exhausted by declaring people equal in law”

Legal equality is not the entire meaning of equality.

It is one dimension of equality.

It varies historically and socially. what societies understand as equality, and what they regard as necessary for someone to be treated as an equal member of society, can change over time and differ between societies.

For example:

In one historical context, people may understand equality primarily as:

equal legal rights.

In another context, people may argue that equality also requires:

political participation, social recognition, access to education, or freedom from racial subordination.

That does not mean that there is no objective distinction between equality and inequality. It means the social interpretation and institutional realization of equality can change historically.

however we should not use this broad philosophical formulation if our actual argument is narrower.